Trump Rejects GOP Emergency Declaration Compromise, Setting Up Rebuke

Roderick Gutierrez

So far, four Republican senators have said they'll vote with Democrats to oppose Trump's emergency order.

With the Senate expected to reject President Donald Trump's national emergency, POTUS once again took to Twitter with a message to Republican senators. The call was described by two officials who weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and described it on condition of anonymity.

In an attempt to stave off Senate passage - an embarrassing prospect for Trump - Republican senators have been pushing an alternative measure that would instead address concerns that Trump's powers under the National Emergencies Act are too broad.

Voting yes on the resolution, which passed the House in late February, would reaffirm their rhetorical commitment to containing executive overreach and check a naked power grab by the president.

Many Republicans have expressed unease over the national emergency declaration, noting the U.S. Constitution grants Congress authority over spending matters. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Kentucky's Rand Paul. Tillis faces a potentially tough re-election fight next year. He said he'd vote to block Trump's emergency because his own bill "does not have an immediate path forward".

"Our Republican friends are saying with this fig leaf, 'Grant me the courage to stand up to President Trump, but not yet, '" Schumer said. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Tuesday, would make national emergency declarations by the president subject to congressional approval every 30 days.

But approval of the resolution would highlight a clash in which Trump was being forced to protect his signature campaign promise by vetoing legislation sent to him by a Republican-led Senate.

In the meantime, House Oversight Chair Elijah Cummings of Maryland is locking horns with an increasingly recalcitrant White House over issues related to Trump's hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and the top-secret security clearances granted to Trump family members and White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

For some Republicans, a major stumbling block is setting a precedent that could be used by a future Democratic president to evade the will of Congress.

Trump told reporters that he has advised GOP senators to "vote any way you want" on the resolution blocking his emergency declaration - but he added a warning.

Congress would be highly unlikely to muster the two-thirds majorities needed to eventually override a veto.

Brown said he doesn't object to finding a "long term answer", to keep presidents from declaring emergencies in non-emergency situations, but said he didn't know of any cases where past presidents abused the law. On Tuesday, the Utah senator introduced a new bill that would leave Trump's current emergency declaration intact, while placing restrictions on the future exercise of emergency powers. "Let's tell the president he cannot use his overreaching power to declare an emergency when he couldn't get Congress to do what he wanted".

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